Projects

Assessing and improving the performance of quantum annealing processors - Year two

Quantum computers are believed to offer significant advantages over classical computers, specifically in solving non-deterministic polynomially hard problems. One of the known schemes of quantum computation is quantum annealing, which is suitable for solving many types of hard optimization problems with a wide range of applications including machine learning, finance, security, and healthcare. D-Wave Systems Inc. develops the only commercially available quantum annealers, which are being successfully applied to solve certain types of problems. Developing quantum annealers with a high performance over a full range of hard problems requires both a better understanding of the annealing process and hardware improvements, which are this projects goals. Using two of the prominent quantum-bit platforms, trapped ions and superconducting systems, we will investigate the factors that determine the computational efficiency and speed of quantum annealers. TO BE CONT'D